


This Water Tastes Funny

by ladymdc



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Drabble Collection, Gen, Mages and Templars, Minor Cullen Rutherford/Female Trevelyan, Rylen Appreciation Week 2018, Sparring, Starkhaven Circle, Templars, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Wordcount: 100, now with art!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-24 18:24:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13816875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladymdc/pseuds/ladymdc
Summary: A character study focusing on the feelings & moments that matter most.Rylen Appreciation Week 2018 prompts presented in 100-word drabbles.





	1. Twilight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twilight: (n) a period or state of obscurity, ambiguity, or gradual decline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DAY 1: Rylen has spent multiple years as a Templar at the Starkhaven circle and he certainly has many stories to tell from his time there. What were his experiences? What was his first Harrowing like? Did he get along with his Knight-Commander? This is the day to tell us!
> 
> **i.e.:** Who is Knight-Captain Rylen?
> 
> UPDATED with a art from the SUPER nice & FAST [athdhea](http://athdhea.tumblr.com/). Go commission her - SERIOUSLY <3

Starkhaven. A paradise nestled into a lush mountainside. The palace - a beacon - blinding white in the early morning sun. In the courtyard below, still in shadow, apprentices conjure orbs of light. 

He reaches out, touches one as it floats by.

_ Warmth _ incarnate, a stark contrast to the lyrium singing through his veins.

Wistfully, Rylen feels the stubble on his jaw, fingertips grazing the deep, craggy scar bisecting his cheek. 

The murmur of morning prayers drifts into his dorm along with children’s laughter. 

For once, he decides to join the former instead of the latter.

Afterwards, some fish and egg pie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More lame 100-word drabbles because I am lame.


	2. Tranquility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tranquility: (n) the quality or state of being tranquil; calm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DAY 2: Rylen becomes Commander Cullen’s second-in-command during the Inquisition and by all accounts, he does a phenomenal job of it. Let’s explore what that means! Is he softer on new recruits who never held a blade before? Does he butt heads with Cassandra? Does he accept the Herald immediately or does he take some time to warm up to the idea? We are dying to know.
> 
>  **i.e.:** Does Rylen enjoy his newfound place in the world?

Sweat glistens on her olive skin, distracting him. He parries the blow — barely — a deafening, suffocating silence where metal should clang against metal. With an  _ oof,  _ Rylen falls on his ass.

“I told you she cheats.”

“I do not.” Evelyn assists him up, mirth sparkling in her evergreen depths. 

“Aye, lass, you do.”

She pouts. “No one accuses Bull of cheating—” He flexes; everyone, including Cass (oddly enough), laughs. “—and this leaves _something_ to the imagination…”

“Not much,” Cullen grumbles, tossing his surcoat over her shoulders.

Leaning into her half-embrace, Rylen feels strangely at peace in the midst of war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Answer: Yes, yes he does enjoy it. 
> 
> Note: Evelyn is a knight-enchanter & enjoys sparing in limited clothing (breastband/loose tunic and leggings, etc) to get back at her dear Commander for doing the same — and she really likes hugs. <3


	3. Twinge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twinge: (n) a brief experience of an emotion, typically an unpleasant one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DAY 3: Rylen is the fifth - and youngest - child of a stonemason family in Starkhaven, but we know little of them. What kind of headcanons do you have about his childhood? Or maybe you want to see him with a family of his own? Perhaps there’s that one time he got super drunk with Lace Harding at The Singing Maiden and they sang embarrassing songs together? What is his relationship with Cullen like? The sky is the limit.
> 
>  **i.e.:** What kind of friend/brother/son is Knight-Captain Rylen?

Simplicity. 

As a lad, he sought to escape it, but only ended up further immersed into it as a Templar. Leaving Starkhaven… Well, a short amount of time and a whole lot of experience has shown him there are far worse things. 

He misses knowing his family well fed, his friends safe, the ease of an honest smile; in short, Rylen misses -  _ simplicity. _

He does what he can to foster it. 

Subtle, albeit terrible jokes inserted into reports. Buying rounds of drinks. Embarking on a prank war with Sera and Trevelyan.

The effort is simple, what isn’t, is everything else. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Answer: A _great_ one.


	4. Fortuity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fortuity: (n) a chance occurrence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DAY 4: The sexiest man from Starkhaven to ever join the Inquisition doesn’t have an official love interest. Is he gay, straight or bisexual? Or maybe he doesn’t care in what shape his love comes, as long as they love him back. Either way, share the stories of love - or heartbreak - that pertain to the Captain! Is he pining for the Inquisitor? Did one of the soldiers catch his eye? Or maybe there’s a woman in his past that he cannot forget? We are all sitting at the edge of our seats to find out.

It all started with a  _ look.  _

One iris ochre, the other umber. He had the strangest urge to touch the shaved side of her head then card his fingers through her raven tresses. When she finally let him… her body was  _ opened  _ to him. She kissed him raw, left crescent imprints on his back, took her teeth to his neck and  _ claimed _ him.

He has never known a love like hers - real and fierce, and he knows he’ll never be quite the same.

Rylen can’t help but wonder, how will it end?

He asks her - she smiles - and he knows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unnecessary headcanon input: I'm sure he's bi, plays the field until he finds "the one" & doesn't care what shape his love comes in AND I've already started planning what my next protagonist will look like despite not having the slightest clue if we'll be locked into a race/gender.


End file.
